Cornered
by Amilya Eclair Farron
Summary: : KoK's Very Belated Requested One-Shot : His gut kept telling him that something was wrong, but he tried to force himself to think that he was just being paranoid; however, when the phone rang, the person on the other end only confirmed that it was anything but paranoia.


_KoK_ – I deeply apologize for how late this is! And I thank you from the bottom of my heart for being so patient. I do hope you enjoy this (tragically overdue) oneshot/two-shot and that it was actually worth such a horribly long wait. I quickly went back and added a few things over the course of the years (oh my goodness, has it really been _that_ long since you requested this? I'M SO SORRY *bows*) and so I hope that you don't mind what I added in. *sheepish grin*

Oh yeah. And during the course of time, I thought I tried to put some (hinted!)Polarshipping. I'm not very good at writing mentioned ship, but practice makes perfect, right? Or helps improve it at least?

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except for Jiji (first cameo appearance is in _Out of Line_), (unfortunately) the Angliss' (their first appearance is, too, in _Out of Line_), and any others that don't appear in the awesome world of _Yu-Gi-Oh!_

* * *

_Cornered_

* * *

**Summary:** His gut kept telling him that something was wrong, but he tried to force himself to think that he was just being paranoid; however, when the phone rang, the person on the other end only confirmed that it was anything but paranoia.

* * *

"It's only been two minutes passed her curfew."

…

"You maybe overreacting a little here, Joey. It's only been six minutes now."

…

"Joey, I'm sure that they're fine."

…

"You need to relax, Joey."

…

"I'm serious, Joey, you need to relax."

…

"… It's a miracle you haven't sprouted gray hairs by now with all the worrying you're doing."

…

"Oh—_honestly_, Joey, would you stop with the pacing? You're going to wear the carpet out at this rate."

…

"Like I said before, Joey, I'm sure that they're fine. And, even if you don't trust him, you know that he wouldn't let anything happen to her." Said the blond woman from her spot on the couch as her violet eyes watched the young man pace back and forth. "Aren't you getting dizzy yet from all that pacing? Because it sure is making me feel dizzy…"

…

Mai Valentine gave a small huff… but couldn't deny the own anxiousness that was stirring within her heart. There were times where he would end up dropping her off five to ten minutes passed her curfew. But here the clock's hand now struck on the digit that told the couple was twenty-eight minutes late. If something serious came up then Serenity made sure to contact her brother to inform him and settle his nerves (if only for a brief moment) before he went on a rant on how that "dirty Australian" was no good for his little sister. And this would make her hold back a snort of laughter because they all could see how similar he and Joey were.

…

"Look, I'll call Serenity and ask what's keeping them."

…

It was almost as if he was deliberately ignoring her, but she knew him better than that. He was only worried about his sister and as each minute ticked by it only made the worry grow. And she had a funny feeling that the only thing helping him calm down was the thought of pulverizing the spiky brunette into the ground. Oh yes, the two of them were alike in so many ways.

She pressed the phone to her ear as she leaned against the counter in the kitchen. Earlier, before they departed for their date, Mai gave Serenity her cell phone because of the fact that her boyfriend forgot his (more like lost it somewhere) so that way they would be able to have a form of communication while out. Her eyebrows furrowed as it went straight into her voicemail.

_That's odd_, she thought, _the battery was fully charged._

And there was no way they'd voluntarily turn it off. No matter how much the male would have wanted to. Unless the movie they went to see was still ongoing. But that couldn't be right. Serenity assured her brother that it was only an hour and a half long. Maybe she ended up calling right as she was calling the house phone? That was a possibility, wasn't it? Of course it was. She held back from immediately calling and gave the Wheeler's house phone five minutes for it to ring.

Once the minutes were up, again, she redialed the number and got the same result as the last.

The young woman hung up and felt her lips tug into a frown. Something… Something definitely wasn't right. She wasn't sure how to explain it but she just _knew_ that something was wrong. That something was greatly out of its place. But she knew that by saying something to Joey would only make his worry grow tenfold. But at the same time she knew that she could not not say something to him about the feeling in the pit of her stomach and how it made her insides twist and the yucky feeling of nausea settle itself into her senses.

For the third time that night, she dialed the number and closed her eyes as her own recorded voice greeted her to leave a message. She chanced a quick glance into the living room to find the blond male still pacing and lips moving. He was probably grumbling about how he was never going to let her out of the house again with the Australian. But she came to a realization that he was trying his best not to make a scene and take it in stride despite the fear gripping his heart.

In fact, she knew from Serenity about the recent incident concerning her boyfriend although she didn't know much about the details. All Mai knew was that the incident caused an old wound to be reopen and so maybe they were taking their time home because he needed to get it off his chest. But she also knew that he would never, ever want to burden her with his troubles. And it made her wonder how much he had told Serenity in regards to his past that lead to entwining itself with a certain muscular blond and an aloof redhead and then herself for a brief amount of time before a whole new path to walk on.

Goodness, she wasn't even sure how much detail Joey had given her or if he went in to the details regarding the incident of a certain green haired Atlantian and his crazy quest to bring an ancient beast back from the depths of the sea to "cleanse" the world. And it wasn't as if she bothered to bring up the topic because why would you want to ruin something like that? Already she caused there to be a misunderstanding between the lovebirds and so of course she wasn't going to see about bringing certain touchy topics up.

And if the two males hadn't brought up the topic for a reason than who was she to talk about it with the person they were intentionally not wanting to tell until they felt that the time was right?

She shook her head to dismiss those thoughts. Was this really a good time to think about things like that right now? Of course it wasn't! Because the two lovebirds _still_ hadn't shown up or called to tell them what it was keeping them!

Gosh. How much of Joey's paranoia rubbed off on her? And how much of it was her own that was causing her heart to skip a beat and feel as if her lungs weren't getting enough air?

Could they both… maybe… be overreacting? No. No, no, no. Of course they couldn't be. The clock showed that the two were an hour late. How time flew by without one noticing it. But she knew that both teens made sure to keep an eye on the clock because Serenity would never want her brother to worry and, as the end result, have him threaten her boyfriend's physically wellbeing with the verbal promise of never letting him see her again.

And, even if Yugi and Tea hadn't told her this, she knew that he would never purposefully keep her out past her curfew.

No matter how much he enjoyed messing with his ex-rival.

The ringing of the phone almost made her heart jump out of her chest but, before she could reach for it, Joey had gotten to it first. She watched his facial features, carefully, trying to deduce what was all being said and what was going on for the two to be late. Part of her felt like taking the phone from him because she was sure his silence was only making the poor girl nervous.

But then she saw it.

The fear in his eyes before anger quickly masked it.

"Joey?" she mouthed and tried to swallow the lump caught in her throat. Oh yes. Something definitely wasn't right. But what was it? What happened? Did the two end up in an accident? Had someone gotten hurt? She wished there was another phone in the place so she could hear all that was being said. The suspense was absolutely killing her. "Joey? What's happened? Who was that?"

He hung up the phone and tried to quell the anger that threatened to shake his body.

"Joey, I asked you a question. Who was that that you were talking to?"

His gut kept telling him that something was wrong, but he tried to force himself to think that he was just being paranoid; however, when the phone rang, the person on the other end only confirmed that it was anything but paranoia.

Through clenched teeth he let out a small curse.

* * *

Raphael's fingers automatically ran through Jiji's short fur as he sat on the sofa, kitten curled up in a ball beside him, as he read his book and enjoying the quiet atmosphere. Valon had taken his girlfriend out on a date tonight which he and Alister guessed was her idea in order to help get his mind off of the recent events. She was a sweet and kindhearted girl and a blind person would be able to see that the two of them belonged together.

Well… except for her brother, who was still in denial about the whole situation.

But the two had already come to a somewhat truce and if things kept going like this and develop further then they'd have to turn that "somewhat truce" into a full one. And he knew they would. Everyone knew that they would. All it took was time and forgiveness (well, mainly on his part would that be the case. All Valon needed to do was admit how sorry he was for the trouble that they caused).

The phone behind him went off and caused Jiji to lift his head from the sound. He gave a pitiful mew as Raphael got up to answer it before putting his head down and patiently waiting for his return in order to continue stroking his fur in that soothing manner.

"Hello?" answered Raphael.

It only took two seconds for his blood to run cold as the person on the other end spoke.

* * *

Usually, when Valon was around and things were eerily quiet, he would have been greatly suspicious as his senses went on alert. But tonight he was out on a date with his girlfriend so it made sense that the silence was welcoming.

But if that was the case, then why wasn't that the case?

It was as if something in the air was telling him that something was wrong.

But what was it?

Alister's eyes narrowed at his laptop screen as he slightly turned his head towards his bedroom door.

Something was amiss.

He rose from the desk and started his journey downstairs to find Raphael no longer occupying the couch and Jiji quickly dropped from his spot to trot over to him and start rubbing against his legs in order to plea for him to give him the attention that he was not getting. Picking the feline up, he decided to see if the blond was in the kitchen – which he was.

And the expression on his face was grim.

But there in his eyes he could see the blazing anger in his eyes.

And soon, his gray eyes were steely as Raphael relayed to him what the phone call been about.

"I've already called Wheeler and told him about the situation. He'll be here in five minutes."

* * *

"Don't give me that look, you brat. You only brought this on yourself and your pretty friend."

Valon's glare only grew harder at the older man with the spectacles as he tried to free his hands from their restraints. His wrists began to feel itchy from the ropes that bind them and he wished this was a movie so he could use a makeshift pocketknife of some sort to cut himself free. Not to mention, he wished he could spit the sock out that was used to gag him and keep him from shouting and cursing at them into oblivion.

Just how did the old grump manage to pull this off anyway?

He knew that the man held a grudge against them – him especially due to the constant insults and pranks – but maybe that was his own downfall. He'd underestimated what the man was capable of and now, not only would he have to pay for it, but so did…

Spiky, brunette hair shifted as the teen tried to turn his head in hopes of seeing how Serenity was holding up. They'd been thrown in the trunk of some old, beat up Honda only a few minutes ago as they left the theater and headed towards his bike. And that's when they'd been jumped by five guys. One of them who happened to be one of his old co-workers, if that's what you could call it. But why was he here? Sure, he knew he would want revenge of sorts for all the pranks and names he threw at him, but why would he show up now to extract it?

And who was stupid enough to work for him?

… Well… Apparently these goons must've been since it was clear that they were.

He gave up momentarily from turning his head around in order to see how Serenity was holding up. Instead, his cerulean gaze hardened on the curly haired bloke and the one who was running the show. The three other blokes must've gotten back in the car and were waiting for the other two to join them so they could drive off and take them to wherever their hideout was.

Still.

It was hard to believe that he was able to organize all of this, especially if they'd been spying on him and his pals without them sensing it. But he had been a part of the same group that they themselves were a part of and the man had been around longer than Alister. So it was possible that he'd have some tricks up his sleeve that he made sure they never got the chance to see. Because as the old saying goes: you can't make an old dog learn new tricks.

And the man was ancient.

Not as ancient as their boss, but still ancient enough.

"Dude, are you sure we can't have some fun with the pretty little thing?"

If glares could kill, Valon's would have blown his head up.

The person in charge gave him a somewhat deadpan look. "Do you want to get paid? Or would you rather lose all that wealth just for some "fun"?" asked he, lips turning into a scowl at the word "fun". Surprisingly, or not, even he had more class than they did. When he failed to speak, his scowl only deepened, "Well?"

"Alright, already, I get the picture, man."

"Good. Now shut the trunk."

The goon standing beside him slammed the trunk shut and dusted his hands off with a satisfying smirk on his lips. The two went around to their appointed seats and got in the car.

"S'now what's the plan?"

The man wearing the spectacles stared aimlessly in the review mirror. He knew exactly what the next course of action was; although he failed to understand the why behind it. Maybe it was because it would ruin the fun of it all and not give him a chance to extract revenge on the brat tied up in the trunk of the vehicle.

"Yo! I said—"

"Shut up. I heard what you asked." He growled through clenched teeth as his eyes shot to the person occupying the passenger seat. These punks were getting on his nerves with their constant questions and complaints and whining. How hard was it to get good help nowadays? Apparently, it must be a difficult task if the only help given was in the form of these blubbering idiots. "And would you put your seatbelt on? I don't want the cops to pull us over to give us a ticket only to hear the pounding coming from the trunk and get arrested." It made him feel like he was talking to a child or a senile, old person.

Turning the engine on, he pulled out onto the street and started down the road. The drive was a quiet one with the exception of the rap, on low, coming from the radio while the lackeys chatted away about this and that and what they were going to spend their money on once they were paid. It was so disappointing to hear how they were planning on using the cash to buy booze and drugs and things that he never even heard of before. He was grateful that he was stuck driving otherwise he would have been worried they were on those ridiculous sounding drugs that they were talking about and end up crashing the car to kill them all.

And—good God, would they ever shut up? Or talk about something remotely intelligent? And what was with the constant slang? Could they not use proper English? Was that just too much to ask of them?

Noticing the gas station up ahead, he turned in and pulled into a vacant pump before telling one of the three in the back to go in and put money on the number they were in front of. Instead, all four decided to pile out of the car and head in – something about wanting to get some beer and cigarettes – and he was very glad that he was the driver.

He took out his pocket watch to see what time it was.

It was time to put the next step of this plan into action.

Removing his cellular phone from his pocket, he flipped it open and began to dial the numbers that he made sure to memorize. He waited for a minute and then pressed the call button, bringing the phone to his ear, keeping an eye on the store in case those idiots decided to get too out of hand. It wouldn't surprise him if they tried to rob the place. But if they wanted to be paid, they would be sure to be on their best behavior and wait to cause trouble like that until the money was in their pockets.

"_Hello?_"

"Hello, Raphael. I am fairly certain that you will have no problem in recognizing my voice. Now, listen carefully because you're only going to hear this once. Understood? Good. Now… here's what's going to happen."

* * *

He couldn't believe that he let this happen.

How could he have let this happen?

He'd dealt with plenty of punks twice his size before and so it shouldn't have been any different.

Beside him, he felt Serenity shift and he wished he could roll over without the worry of smothering her with his body weight. The space in the trunk was a tight fit and he was surprised that it could even hold the two of them. But it was better than the thought of her being the back seat of the car with those mutts; although, he wished that she had been able to escape and not have to be in this predicament period.

Just what exactly did the old geezer have planned for them?

He knew that he was after him, but the fact that he refused to let Serenity leave made his insides twist painfully and he tried his best to push any and all horrible thoughts from his mind. What was the point in bringing Serenity along, anyway? She was innocent in all of this. Was he planning on using her – hurting her – in order to get to him?

If not for the gag, Valon would have scowled as his blood boiled in anger.

He wished he could send Serenity his thoughts or that she could read minds because he swore that, no matter what, he would get her out of this situation; he would not let anything happen to her beyond this point. Guilt riddled his body as he knew he failed to protect her from these punks and for having her end up being kidnapped with him, but he was going to redeem it by making sure that she got out unscathed when the right time came.

And—would it kill the driver to drive more carefully?!

* * *

"You're late."

A cold shiver went up his spine.

"We would have made it on time if not for the fact that those junkies claimed to need more smokes and booze." He tried to keep the annoyance that he was feeling out of his words, but he knew it didn't quite work. Her expression darkened greatly at his tone of voice. "Do you want us to bring you to them or them to you?"

At the word "them" her eyes narrowed further and her lips began to form a frown. "What do you mean by "them"?"

"He was with what I assume to be his girlfriend. The men thought it best to bring her along, too. You were the one who said you didn't want any witnesses involved and to ensure that the police were kept out of this." Something in her eyes flashed as if in recognition and he tried to be disinterested. "Would you rather we had let her go so she could inform the police of a kidnapping?"

"It's not a kidnapping." She snarled and quickly recomposed herself. "I mean, that's what they would think it to be. But all I want is to bring my little boy home." He still failed to see any resemblance between the two and she didn't come off as the loving mother type. And, if he were to be honest, he couldn't see her being a mother to any child. "And if it's who I think it is then yes. That would be his girlfriend."

So they've already had a meeting. Guess that helped explained why she went out of her way to hire him and the other goons. But even he knew that what she hired them to do – what they were doing – was kidnapping. How delusional was this woman? Or… was she even delusional?

"This may turn out better than I had original thought."

His dark eyes focused back on her as a sly smirk came to her lips.

Just what exactly was she planning inside that head of hers now?

"Have someone put her in a different room by her lonesome instead of bringing her along. If need be, she'll just be another bargaining chip that we'll need in order to have him change his mind." Mrs. Angliss told him as she retreated back to where she came. "And do be certain not to let any harm come to her. We wouldn't want to let anything happen to her before we can even threaten him with her safety."

Surprisingly, she did seem to have some sense of style.

Something that he didn't think either of them had when he first met them.

When no one else made to move, he scowled and directed his gaze towards the morons. "Well? What are you idiots waiting for? You heard her, didn't you? Get them out of the trunk; I'll take the female to a room we're not using and the rest of you can drag him off to see her." He much rather preferred letting them take the damsel in distress, if only to have a chance to inflict pain on the brat. But these punks hadn't exactly hidden their thoughts on the female and all of the disgusting things they would do to her if given the chance.

And he knew well enough that just because the boss gave an order didn't mean that the rest of the maggots would follow.

In fact, cue the groans.

"But can't we take her?"

"Yeah," another said.

"We'll be sure to make her feel right at home."

"And who knows? Maybe she'll make us feel right at home, too."

_Ugh. Disgusting creatures_, he thought and wished he could be rid of them. The sooner this entire ordeal was over and done with the better. As it was, he wasn't sure how much longer he would be able to put up with them. Just where exactly had she found these creeps to begin with? Scratch that. He was better off not knowing where she found them; he would have been far better off not knowing them period.

If only… no; he wasn't going to go there.

He wasn't going to think about the "what ifs" and the "what could have been" scenarios that so many others enjoyed thinking about.

There was no point in doing so.

It wouldn't change the past.

It wouldn't change the present.

So to think of such things was a complete waste of time.

"Did you hear us, old man?"

"You gonna escort the kid while we escort the lady to her room?"

For the millionth time that they've been in each others' presence, he openly scowled at them. "No. I'm taking her and ensuring that none of you will be able to get into the room that she'll be staying in."

Cue more groans and the seething glares.

"Now, why don't you idiots make yourselves useful and take him to her? Because, like I've told you already, you're only going to get paid if you do as you're told. And if you make her wait then that will only promise a deduction in your paycheck."

* * *

Joey had made Mai stay at the apartment despite her loud protests.

He also hadn't told her who it was on the phone or what was going on. Maybe it was selfish of him to do so, but he couldn't bear the thought of losing her if anything should happen. Not again. Not ever again.

It was bad enough that his sister had been kidnapped.

And he wasn't sure what he would do if they somehow managed to get their hands on Mai.

Raphael told him to the situation at hand and to come over to their place immediately.

He just hoped that by the time the three of them got there it wouldn't be too late.

And Mai wouldn't have let it go so easily. She wouldn't have backed down so quickly. But the sober expression and the look in his eyes told her to listen to him and do as he said. Even though part of her felt like following him because she wanted… no… _needed_ to know what was going on. She needed to know if Serenity and Valon were alright.

But she would wait in his apartment like he asked and stay by the home should there be another call.

One thing was for certain though.

As soon as he came back, with Serenity in tow no doubt, she was going to get the answers to her questions that were plaguing her mind.

That was a promise.

* * *

"_You_."

Mrs. Angliss could only smile but it wasn't a sweet one. It made the hair on the back of his neck stand and gave him a sickening feeling. Beside her, Mr. Angliss sat with a stoic expression on his face and his eyes hard. Just what exactly did they want with him now? They knew that it was pointless in trying to persuade him to go with them. And they also should have known that the social worker knew about their shady background and the fact that they did abandon him at a young age and that they weren't really his parents.

So just what kind of crap were they trying to pull by doing this? As soon as Serenity's curfew was up, he knew that Joey would call Raphael if she didn't call him to tell him that they were dealing with traffic or a flat tire. And then Raph would know something was up and he and Alister would start doing what they did best like back in the old days.

"Valon, dear, you shouldn't scowl at your mother like that."

He was not going to give them the satisfactory by reacting to what they had to say. No matter how much he wanted to snap at them and tell them that they were not his parents. That she was not his mother. He needed to be sure to keep his head if he wanted to get Serenity out of here unharmed. It was bad enough that they were separated and he had no idea where she was, but he couldn't risk losing his anger.

Not right now.

"Oh, I wish you'd stop looking at us like that. You know this would have been much easier if you only let us speak with you and agreed in allowing us to bring you home." Mr. Angliss grunted and he wasn't sure if he was agreeing with his wife or not.

They came across as an odd sort of couple now that he studied them and gave it more thought.

"You should have agreed to come with us when we found you again. You know you belong with us. We're your family, sweetie." His glare grew harder. "Can't you see that we only want you to come home? That we've missed you? That we love you?"

Ha! What a laugh.

"Listen." Her voice was way too sugar-coated and didn't she know he wouldn't fall for anything that she had to say? "I know it does seem like we abandoned you, but we didn't. You must believe us, Valon. We're your parents and we want you to come home with us. Understand? Don't you realize how easy it would have been if you only said yes when given the chance? But don't worry. We'll give you a second chance. All you have to do is agree to come home with us and we can put the past behind us. Wouldn't that be nice, Valon? Don't you want us to become a family again?"

He knew he shouldn't have said anything – that he should have kept his mouth shut – but he went ahead and opened his mouth to state the truth: "I 'ave a family."

"What? Those punks you're rooming with? Oh, no, sweetie. They're not your family. They're just dirt." Valon bristled. How _dare_ she call his friends dirt. Raph and Alister were _not_ dirt. And she seemed to know that she hit a nerve. "If you must, we'll let you keep in touch with them _after_ you've been through therapy, of course."

Therapy? They thought he needed _therapy?_

"You never cared 'bout me 'fore." He bit out. He wanted to ask what their game was, what they were playing at. But should he? What if that only caused him to play right into their hand? He was not going to give them that satisfaction. No way.

Mrs. Angliss ignored his statement. "And we'll let you stay in contact with your girlfriend. Speaking of which, I'm sure you must be worried about her. No? Don't worry; we won't let anything happen to her. Will we, dear?" Mr. Angliss gave a grunt. "See? She does seem like a… sweet and… lovely girl. But again, we'll only let you contact her once you've gone through therapy. We do need to focus on fixing our family first. And we will not let some tram—pretty girl get in the way."

"I swear, if—"

"We've already given you our word that no harm will come to her." Already she was using his girlfriend to force his hand. "Now, agree to come with us and we can be on our way and ensure that your girlfriend is found by the proper authorities and—"

"Sorry to interrupt." A voice spoke from the door and they turned to find Gurimo standing there. And he didn't sound sorry at all. In fact, he seemed to care little for doing so.

"But I'm afraid that it seems that time's run out. The cops are on their way." Gurimo said. His tone was laced with annoyance and it made Valon wonder why the man was working for the Angliss' anyway. But grudges and hatred could make someone work with a person that they didn't like if it meant a chance at getting their revenge on the person that they were targeting. "Those idiots must have either let someone see them when grabbing them or they let something slip when we had stopped for gas. So I advise that we best be going, but if you two would rather stay here then suit yourselves. But I myself prefer keeping my freedom for the time being."

Mrs. Angliss could only splutter in absolute fury at having this reunion of theirs be cut so short. How could those stupid idiots be so careless as to let someone see them?

"There's always next time." Mr. Angliss told his wife with little interest as he stood from his spot. It was clear to the two others in the room that it was his wife who was pushing for this whole thing to have Valon come back with them. That or maybe the man was too wasted to react properly.

"But—"

"There's _always_ next time." His tone held no room for argument and it was then that Mrs. Angliss backed down.

She gave Valon one cold expression and said, "Don't worry, dear. We'll be back to collect you before you know it." The Angliss' didn't even spare him a second glance as they exited the room so he now found his glare settling on Gurimo. Yet before he could even demand what they had done to Serenity, the man seemed to have read his mind and beat him to it.

"Don't worry about your little girlfriend, brat. She's perfectly fine." Gurimo still found it hard to believe. Who in their right mind would want to have the brat as their boyfriend? No matter. This was one of those times where he would have to question someone's sanity later. Right now they only had so much time left before they got here. "She's in the abandoned janitor's closet that's only a few doors down from here." Turning on his heel, he began to retreat from the room which Valon found rather strange. Why would Gurimo tell him that when he hated his guts?

Valon scowled and swore that Gurimo had better be telling the truth.

Otherwise, all of them would regret what they did ten times over when they crossed paths again.

* * *

"Are you _positive_ that you're OK?"

"Yes, yes, Joey, I'm _fine_, really."

As soon as Wheeler found his little sister in the room she was kept in he kept repeating the same question over and over to which he would get the same answer. A few feet away from them, the ex-DOOM Swordsmen stood together as Raphael asked Valon if he was alright. Alister was studying their young friend with calculating gray eyes.

"'M fine," Valon grumbled as he rubbed his left, sore wrist with his right hand. Those ropes that they used made his skin red and itchy and he was just relived (after learning that Serenity was safe and sound, of course; she was his only and main concern) to have them off finally. "'Ow did you blokes know what 'appened ta us?"

"Gurimo called me earlier tonight and informed me."

Valon blinked in surprise.

"There's gotta be some mistake, mate. Gurimo's workin' f'r 'em. So why would 'e…"

"It's probably because he wants the chance at getting back at you. And he can't do that if the Angliss' whisked you away before the opportunity presented itself to him." Alister knew – well, they all did – that Gurimo hated the Australian the most for his lack of respect and the constant pranks he pulled on the man. And maybe, just maybe, if Gurimo hated him or Raphael more then he would have let the Angliss' take the spiky haired teen away. But he didn't and so he couldn't risk his one time opportunity being taken away by these people.

"We'll worry about Gurimo later."

Both younger males looked to the older one.

"Right now our main focus needs to be on the Angliss'. If they were willing to go this far as to kidnap you, Valon, then that means they'll more than likely do it again. We need to deal with them first and then when it comes down to it we'll deal with Gurimo after."

Valon gave a nod, looking away and towards the Wheeler siblings. He was just glad that Serenity was safe… for now. Like Raphael had said, the Angliss' may try something again to get him back in their clutches; he was honestly surprised that they hadn't bothered to take him with them. Maybe they were hoping that he would willingly go with them?

It just didn't make sense and it only made his headache worsen.

Something clasped his shoulder and he knew that Raphael was giving him reassurance.

Whatever was to happen next, he knew that he wouldn't be alone to face it.

He had his friends to back him up.

And they were going to make sure to fight this.

That the Angliss' wouldn't get what they were after.


End file.
